UConn Holds Onto No. 19 Ranking Among National Public Universities

The rankings that colleges and universities “love to hate and hate to love” are out.

The rankings that colleges and universities "love to hate and hate to love" came out Tuesday, without much change for most Connecticut schools.

U.S. News & World Report again ranked the University of Connecticut at No. 19 among the top national public universities; Yale stayed at No. 3 among national universities, behind first-place Princeton and second-place Harvard; and Wesleyan University climbed from No. 17 to a four-way tie for No. 15 among national liberal arts colleges.

"There is no single ranking that fully captures the quality of any university, but we are glad that UConn has maintained its highest-ever placement on the U.S. News list for two consecutive years," UConn President Susan Herbst said.

UConn climbed into the top 20 in 2011 in a four-way tie for 19th place, then slipped to 21st place in 2012. Last year it bounced back to occupy the 19th spot on its own, as it does this year.

Among schools that moved more than a position or two, Trinity College slipped from No. 36 to No. 45 among national liberal arts colleges, and the University of Hartford climbed from No. 98 last year to No. 83 on a list of northern regional universities.

The matter of how much weight the rankings carry, how accurately they reflect the quality of a school, and how much they affect a school's reputation is debated among college officials who appear to pay them varying levels of attention.

"Most institutions, if you ask them, will tell you it's a double-edged sword," said Erin Hennessy, a vice president at TVP Communications based in Boulder, Colo., which does public relations for institutions of higher education. "It's a really easy way for alumni, for parents … to get a snapshot of what is a big complex organization like a college or a university, but I think those same people would say that it's not telling the whole story of our institution."

David Hawkins, director of public policy and research for the National Association for College Admission Counseling, said there is "a very complicated relationship between colleges and ratings. The rankings are the thing that [college] admissions officers particularly love to hate and hate to love."

"A high ranking in U.S. News or in any other ranking will be touted across campus to prospective students on big banners," Hawkins added.

Colleges that receive a poor ranking often disavow the importance of the ranking, and others prefer to keep the rankings at arm's length, even if they're excellent.

Kate Carlisle, spokeswoman for Wesleyan University, said in an email when asked about Wesleyan's improved ranking: "Thanks for your query. Our policy is not to comment on rankings."

Asked about Yale's ranking, spokesman Tom Conroy sent an email that touted the "amazingly accomplished and diverse freshmen class," but did not address the rankings question.

Hawkins said research has shown that a drop in a college's ranking can affect the numbers of applications a college or university receives and can be a concern for admissions officers.

He said there may also be an effect on trustees, alumni, state legislators and others who keep a close eye on the ratings.

Certainly that's been the case in Connecticut, where university officials and legislators often talk about what UConn needs to stay on that top 20 list, such as reduce its student-faculty ratio, expand research and beef up donations.

The U.S. News & World Report rankings also cover a number of other school attributes, including schools whose graduates carry the least debt (Yale's average debt of $13,009 was one of the lowest in the country) and schools that graduate students with the most debt (Quinnipiac's average debt of $44,552 was one of the highest).

For the third year in a row, Quinnipiac University got the top rating as an "up-and-comer" regional university in the north.

U.S. News & World Report says its rankings are drawn from many factors, including graduation and retention rates, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving and the assessments from presidents, provosts and deans of admissions at peer institutions.

Bob Morse, chief data strategist for the rankings, said that "U.S. News definitely is the first to say that the rankings don't measure everything, that institutions are very complex and there are many things that can't be measured by the rankings."

But, he said, the rankings "can be used to judge the relative standings of schools compared to each other."

Hennessy said college applicants should consider the ratings as "one data point in a much larger analysis" of whether an institution is the "right fit" for an applicant.

In the case of Trinity's slip in the rankings, Morse said it can be traced to declines in alumni giving, graduation and retention rates, students' SAT and ACT scores, and assessments by high school college counselors.

Spokeswoman Kathy Andrews said Trinity is focusing on improving those areas. "We have begun addressing them and are making progress in all these areas," Andrews said in a statement.

She noted that data reflected in the newly released rankings are from the fall of 2009 through fall 2013, so there is a "significant lag" between the time when the assessments are accumulated and the rankings are published.

Joanne Berger-Sweeney took office as Trinity's new president on July 1. Andrews said Berger-Sweeney has announced key priorities that include recruiting and retaining the best students, ensuring excellent resources for faculty, conveying Trinity's strengths to guidance counselors and strengthening connections with alumni.

To read more about the rankings, go to http://www.usnews.com/colleges.